tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8670069258372374568.comments2016-12-08T19:05:26.210+00:00HypnogoriaJim Moonhttps://plus.google.com/113045322972780526973noreply@blogger.comBlogger380125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8670069258372374568.post-3692189254756946942016-12-08T19:05:26.210+00:002016-12-08T19:05:26.210+00:00Should have guessed. Slightly surprising all the s...Should have guessed. Slightly surprising all the same. I&#39;ll look that up for another listen. I forgot to say that I noted your enthusiasm for railways/ trains, Jim. It came shining through the podcast. <br /> The Shout is well worth looking out. It was released on dvd a few years ago and should still be available. A gem of a film. Superbly offbeat. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8670069258372374568.post-91217105261154762242016-12-08T17:23:19.367+00:002016-12-08T17:23:19.367+00:00The full series is available on Youtube - I have n...The full series is available on Youtube - I have no idea of the legality of it - but it&#39;s been up a few years! <br /><br />Now The Shout is a movie I;ve only seen the once and have been meaning to track down for some time! When I do there will be an episode on it! <br /><br />Yes there was massive snows when they tried to film - so much so they nearly couldn&#39;t get the crew and equipment up there! Jim Moonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15834711093704256462noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8670069258372374568.post-46996309326618530792016-12-08T17:04:06.462+00:002016-12-08T17:04:06.462+00:00Inspired commentary, Jim. Unfortunately, I do not ...Inspired commentary, Jim. Unfortunately, I do not have a copy of this and only recall TBOD from its initial run on TV. I do not recall it being repeated in subsequent years, strangely. Nevertheless, I have always considered it a favourite. <br /> Robert Stephens was indeed a fine actor. I enjoyed him in the Asphyx (1972) and his rather brief appearance in The Shout (1978). <br />I realise I&#39;m in no position to make requests but I&#39;d like to hear a commentary for the latter film, if I may be so bold sir.<br /> I well remember a very severe winter up here around the time TBOD would have filmed. 83/84 ish.There is a picture of me somewhere standing in about 4 feet of snow while wearing a balaclava, which were all the rage up here then. Bank robbers fashion gone mainstream. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8670069258372374568.post-79419904090173739492016-12-07T08:38:24.823+00:002016-12-07T08:38:24.823+00:00It must have been written near to the period when ...It must have been written near to the period when dinosaur bones were being written of as abnormally large scrotum bones from biblical giants, so it was interesting to read Stoker&#39;s chapters about huge beasts thrashing around in the primordial swamps, which is a fairly accurate picture of the early Permian times (I may a few hundred million years out on this one).<br />The chapters about the kite are completely outrageous, its possibly riding the same thermals that blew any coherence of plot right out the window.<br />ST.CLAIREAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8670069258372374568.post-79446335910338963142016-12-07T08:34:36.448+00:002016-12-07T08:34:36.448+00:00Most fascinating tales folks! I have the tale of t...Most fascinating tales folks! I have the tale of the honking geese/hellhound barking - and while this tidbit seems to turn up in many write-ups of black dog lore, I rather suspect this is an oft repeated explanation advanced by a old folklorist and repeated so often that it has mistakenly been reported as a part of the actual lore. I shall delve further into that for a future Folklore on Friday if there is anything in that theory! Jim Moonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15834711093704256462noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8670069258372374568.post-13204606177740915782016-12-07T08:20:03.973+00:002016-12-07T08:20:03.973+00:00There&#39;s also a rather fun Aleister Crowley tal...There&#39;s also a rather fun Aleister Crowley tale about a man who meets a chap on a train with a woicker basket containing two mongooses for a special pest control job... I might have to read that one on the show one day!<br /><br />I must confess I struggled to get through Lair of the White Worm - fascinating ideas and concepts though. I understand the book is actually much cut down from what Stoker originally wrote - slimmed down from 40 odd chapters to 28 - and that I think accounts for much of the book&#39;s strange plotting! Jim Moonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15834711093704256462noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8670069258372374568.post-17605552154216307982016-12-06T17:05:30.133+00:002016-12-06T17:05:30.133+00:00Great to finally hear the full story on the famous...Great to finally hear the full story on the famous talking mongoose, and also to learn that it is actually pronounced &quot;Jef&quot;. I always had it as a hard G sound.<br />Its a bizarre mix of poltergeist haunting and Rudyard Kipling tale, and Gef has the persona that would seem at home as the comedy sidekick in a modern fantasy film.<br />I can also add that mongooses may have been readily available in period England as the protagonist of Lair Of The White Worm buys one very easily use for pest control. I&#39;m about two thirds of the way through Stoker&#39;s &#39;other novel&#39; but dont think I can finish it.<br />One of the few examples of when a film adaptation exceeds the original material.<br />And I say that with a straight face.<br />ST.CLAIRE<br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8670069258372374568.post-14550436471096546452016-12-05T21:28:15.094+00:002016-12-05T21:28:15.094+00:00I actually live in Fife and am certain this would ...I actually live in Fife and am certain this would be the cat shot by John Balfour, local landowners who still live on the estate, around that time.<br />I saw the stuffed carcass when it was an exhibit at Kirkcaldy Museum as a child, and remember it looking like a reddish tabby striped lynx, but of less athletic build. Perhaps this was a result of shoddy taxidermy rather than any identifiable specific trait.<br />I don&#39;t know where it is now, haven&#39;t been to the museum in a long time, it certainly perked up an otherwise terminally boring afternoon looking at stuff about coal mining and herring fishing, I can tell you.<br />The local authority on these cats is a man called George Redpath, an ex-policeman who collects information and evidence about these cats, I don&#39;t know if it was ever published but he was writing a book at one point.<br />I remember him saying that a man who lived in north east Fife in the 60s used to walk his pet leopards on leashes through the town market.<br />Before anyone thinks I&#39;m trying to say Fife is overrun by savage beasts, I can safely say that I see kids camping in the woods and lone women walking dogs all the time and none of them, to my knowledge has ever been eaten by a cat.<br />Good Evening,<br />ST.CLAIRE<br /><br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8670069258372374568.post-79319746465379354312016-12-05T20:49:55.870+00:002016-12-05T20:49:55.870+00:00It may be a co-incidence or perhaps I am mistaken ...It may be a co-incidence or perhaps I am mistaken with the name (this was some years ago) but I once attended a natural history exhibition in St.Andrews, Fife and amongst the exihibits was stuffed cat of unusually large size. I took it to be a Scottish Wildcat but I&#39;m not sure what it was, exactly. The note inscribed on a plate beneath proclaimed &quot;Shot at Balbirnie...&quot; and then further details including the date which may have been in or around the 1920&#39;s. <br /> I may have to do some research about the reputed beast or beasts of those parts.<br /> Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8670069258372374568.post-63932756044151145442016-12-05T18:34:48.483+00:002016-12-05T18:34:48.483+00:00Sightings of a similar creature appeared in the me...Sightings of a similar creature appeared in the media under the title &quot;Beast Of Balbirnie&quot; around the time of the final sightings I had.<br />There was a later attempt to discredit the sightings by a fellow who claimed the footprints (which had already been identified as a big cat) had been made by his dog (St Bernards or similar type I think).<br />I think his certainty was partly due to the cash reward he got for his story in one of those rag magazines you get in waiting rooms and such like.<br />I certainly doubt that his dog ate the swan who&#39;s shredded remains i found while running in Balbirnie estate.<br />I must add, i haven&#39;t seen any for a while so I&#39;m guessing that they&#39;ve all been shot.<br />ST.CLAIREAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8670069258372374568.post-51013149649892176282016-12-05T18:16:38.051+00:002016-12-05T18:16:38.051+00:00Sir,
The first was in 1995, a large lynx-like beas...Sir,<br />The first was in 1995, a large lynx-like beast but a bit sturdier built sitting on a path through a grassy field next to a burn.<br />The next encounter was at night as a bunch of us played on some haybales, this would be in about 2000. We spotted a two large black cats waiting in the field margins, before the sauntered across the field in front of us.<br />My final sightings happened in an area 3 or 4 miles from the others. <br />Me and two friends saw two black cats three nights in a row by the side of a small wood, this was about 5 years ago.<br />The skull incident concerned a large fanged skull that I discovered in a large area of peat bog known as &#39;Star Moss&#39; (sounds Lovecraftian, I know). Unfortunately, there was some brain matter present and an accompanying odour and my dad demanded its disposal before we left the Moss and it was duly stashed in a dry stane dyke.<br />I originally thought it was a monkey&#39;s skull until I researched it and realised it was a cat of abnormal proportion&#39;s skull.<br />Of course, when i returned to the area years later, the skull was gone as was the dyke. The victim of a field enlargement it would seem.<br />I realise its sounds like I&#39;ve been at the ether, but I can assure you the above is all true.<br />ST.CLAIREAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8670069258372374568.post-39330760548589788122016-12-03T19:44:54.579+00:002016-12-03T19:44:54.579+00:00You appear to be something of a big cat magnet, St...You appear to be something of a big cat magnet, St Claire. Perhaps you would be kind enough to tell us more about these incidents. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8670069258372374568.post-3833196675766574312016-12-02T20:49:52.303+00:002016-12-02T20:49:52.303+00:00-Afterword-
As a morbid ten year old taking a deto...-Afterword-<br />As a morbid ten year old taking a detour on the way home through some old Co-op buildings that had been partially destroyed by fire and partly demolished, ST.CLAIRE found a mummified cat in the rubble, unfortunately crushed flat by some tracked vehicle. It definitely wasn&#39;t a recent kill as it was completely hairless and dessicated, and almost completely weightless.<br />The strangest part was, the building was only built in 1901.<br />As I say, we do things differently up here...<br />Valued Servant,<br />ST.CLAIREAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8670069258372374568.post-33191442084673775242016-12-02T20:41:45.599+00:002016-12-02T20:41:45.599+00:00I does wonder if these ABC&#39;s (I have seen abou...I does wonder if these ABC&#39;s (I have seen about half a dozen myself over the course of twenty years, and would be the owner of a skull of one of them, if i hadn&#39;t been thwarted by a boutof evil fortune ) fit in somewhere with &#39;Black Shuck&#39; type hellhounds. Some of these devil dogs were reported to have the face of a man, perhaps a muzzle-less feline face would appear human like to a bumpkin, along with the blazing green eyes suggesting some diabolical origin.<br />I remember reading that flocks of geese flying through the nighttime winter skies were believed to be packs of infernal hounds out on the business of their dark master. Didn&#39;t these people notice that they sounded exactly like the geese that were shitting all over the village pond?<br />ST.CLAIRE <br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8670069258372374568.post-32829079348446884512016-12-02T12:14:18.775+00:002016-12-02T12:14:18.775+00:00I saw a Lost Cat notice up in the local shop the o... I saw a Lost Cat notice up in the local shop the other night enquiring if anyone had seen &quot;Greymalkin&quot;. Someone, in the village appeared to know ancient cat names or had seen Night of the Demon (1957). Maybe both.<br /> There is a monster- cat of Norwegian extraction in our village, also. About the size of a springer spaniel, he is. I hope Greymalkin hasn&#39;t came up against him.<br /> Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8670069258372374568.post-87535627346523524162016-11-30T05:52:15.673+00:002016-11-30T05:52:15.673+00:00Excellent. There is a medieval tome with etchings ...Excellent. There is a medieval tome with etchings of many of these beasts, cant remember its name but it was basically a nature book of the day.<br /> It featured such luminaries as &#39;The Bishop Fish&#39; and &#39;Manticore&#39;. The Manticore illustration, big cats body with grinning human head and rows of teeth I&#39;ve always found disturbing, not only because its face resembled the man who worked in the creepy delicatessen on the high street when i was a child. <br />The lack of muzzle, and arched &#39;scorpion&#39;s tail&#39; obviously point to it being a tiger, but its blandly human face with the idiot grin (not to mention its personal cheesemonger connotations) I always found more chilling than a Chimera or Hydra.<br />ST.CLAIRE Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8670069258372374568.post-86224383597356690922016-11-29T17:26:06.891+00:002016-11-29T17:26:06.891+00:00Oh yes, I know of the dread cockatrice! In fact I&...Oh yes, I know of the dread cockatrice! In fact I&#39;ve been working on a future Folklore on Friday looking at the monstrous beast and its close cousin the basilisk! Jim Moonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15834711093704256462noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8670069258372374568.post-27704185530542284722016-11-28T20:46:22.320+00:002016-11-28T20:46:22.320+00:00Very intriguing, Jim. Was the evil guardian cocker...Very intriguing, Jim. Was the evil guardian cockerel a cockatrice by chance? A rather obscure beast I&#39;ll grant, I think one was said to have burst out of a chimney in a church somewhere in England, I forget the year but probably back in that period when such things were commonplace.<br />Honourable mentions to the poor white feathered chicken that had the unfortunately luck to be murdered several times (is that even possible?) in such brutal fashions that its featherless shade haunted the stretch of ground where it died ever anon.<br />Apologies for the lack of dates, but doing this from memory. I believe the book containing this information and many other gems is the Readers Digest Folklore Myths And Legends Of Britain.<br />Although anyone who experienced the original Monster In My Pocket series will be acquainted with the Cockatrice. It truly was the Horror Top Trumps for up and coming enthusiasts of the late 80s/early 90s.<br />Valued Servant,<br />ST.CLAIREAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8670069258372374568.post-86765578338988459202016-11-20T21:31:44.059+00:002016-11-20T21:31:44.059+00:00Surely the number plate alone would suffice.
I was...Surely the number plate alone would suffice.<br />I was once given a courtesy car with the registration ending PUF which led to no end of unwanted attention. But that, is a story for another time. And another forum, possibly.<br />ST.CLAIREAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8670069258372374568.post-53889436301067595042016-11-19T22:13:58.365+00:002016-11-19T22:13:58.365+00:00Speaking of Fulci and his most famous film- today ...Speaking of Fulci and his most famous film- today I saw a car with ZFE on the registration plate. It was a nondescript vechicle: i cant even remember the make or model but I suddenly found myself wanting to own it. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8670069258372374568.post-24536997078408496472016-11-19T21:58:40.764+00:002016-11-19T21:58:40.764+00:00It&#39;s a two books in one affair and can be pick...It&#39;s a two books in one affair and can be picked up for pennies. Old Demytrious is in there but as the book is aimed at a more mature readership than the Hamlyns, it&#39;s a stronger version of events. <br /> What a fine period the 70s were for such books. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8670069258372374568.post-78483289986141132612016-11-19T21:47:17.296+00:002016-11-19T21:47:17.296+00:00Coincidently, I used to confuse the above mentione...Coincidently, I used to confuse the above mentioned LARRAZ film with Harry Kumel&#39;s excellent Daughters of Darkness (1971). After seeing stills from the film in David Pirie&#39;s The Vampire Cinema as a young enthusiast I became obsessed with tracking it down. Took me years but it didn&#39;t disappoint. Sumptuous. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8670069258372374568.post-73457451263449266072016-11-19T17:28:00.245+00:002016-11-19T17:28:00.245+00:00I shall admit I have never seen Sisters, it came w...I shall admit I have never seen Sisters, it came when I splurged purchased a pile of horror dvds that bizarrely came in double features, often buying a complete stinker to get at the culty goodness of the companion piece. For example I had to buy something completely unwatchable just to obtain Michael Reeves debut &quot;The She Beast&quot; .<br />Entire oevres of those dark days went missing, lost in the back of the dvd cupboard,rich seams awaiting rediscovery..<br />The other thing MOE brought up was the scene when the police are shooting at the ghouls from behind a police car. Now, as a child I remember &quot;borrowing&quot; a Nightmare On Elm Street video from from my uncle and watching it with my older brother aged about 7. I assume it was Dream Warriors. The trailers at the start included a film.which featured soldiers (one with a bazooka) firing at zombies from behind a barricade of parked cars. Some zombies then appeared behind the soldiers and attacked them, and I remember seeing the bazooka flail around wildly as they were eaten. I have never managed to find to find out what film that was. A responsible adult prevented us from watching anymore when they discovered out illicit film festival..<br />Secondly was another zombie film that was available on DVD in about &#39;98 in the late great MVC shop. Had a zombie eearing a gas mask on the cover and was about zombies being used as police in an urban environment (possibly post apocalyptic). It had starring &quot;Tom Towles Of NOTLD Remake And Henry: Portrait..&quot; on the cover too. I&#39;m almost certain it was called &#39;Dead City&#39; but searching online has found plenty of films with similar titles but different content. Is it possible they went down the old exploitation route of having lurid cover and synopses that have fuck all to do with the film?<br />My apologies in advance for turning this post into &#39;Name That Film?&#39; but there are no other places that I am hopeful of an answer..<br />I qualify the above ramblings by adding that if Messiah Of Evil reminds me of Nightmare City a bit, then its only because of the smarter- than- the -usual zombies as Nightmare City is utter, utter tosh.<br />ST.CLAIRE Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8670069258372374568.post-92168922788883074282016-11-19T05:41:53.505+00:002016-11-19T05:41:53.505+00:00Ah yes I remember the tale with the supermarket - ...Ah yes I remember the tale with the supermarket - must dig that out again as I didn&#39;t make the connection to Messiah of Evil! It would be interesting to know if Fulci had ever seen Messiah of Evil, certainly the movie seems to a very 70s Euro horror feel to it. Now I&#39;ve never seen Sisters of Death, for a moment I thought it might be Vampyres the is a 1974 British erotic vampire horror film directed by José Ramón Larraz under a nalternate title but sadly not...Jim Moonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15834711093704256462noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8670069258372374568.post-90104093110227194982016-11-19T05:34:34.112+00:002016-11-19T05:34:34.112+00:00I&#39;m not familiar with these two volumes, howev...I&#39;m not familiar with these two volumes, however being a devotee of Mr Farson&#39;s macabre works I shall have to track them down! Jim Moonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15834711093704256462noreply@blogger.com